In September 2021, Starbucks <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2021/starbucks-announces-community-impact-partnership-with-seattle-kraken-ice-hockey-team/">opened its 21st U.S. Community Store</a> inside the Kraken Community Iceplex (KCI) in Seattle’s Northgate neighborhood. Since opening, the store has become a community fixture, serving customers and committing a dedicated portion of its sales receipts to benefit local community programs.

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This past weekend, Starbucks proudly presented its second Puck Drop Grant to <a href="https://www.northhelpline.org/">North Helpline</a>, a community organization in the Northgate neighborhood. The $50,000 grant will directly benefit North Helpline’s Homelessness Prevention program.

With a mission “to inspire and nurture the human spirit, one cup, one person and one neighborhood at a time,” Starbucks believes we have a responsibility to strengthen our communities. That commitment began in our hometown of Seattle 50 years ago and remains true at the company today.

Below is a series of photos, highlighting our partnership with the Seattle Kraken at our KCI store over the last year:

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The Kraken’s newly announced mascot, Buoy the sea troll, joins partners behind the bar of the KCI Community Store. The store is especially popular with kids.

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Mari Horita, Senior Vice President, Social Impact &amp; Government Relations,&nbsp;Seattle Kraken, joins North Helpline executive director Kelly Brown and Starbucks own June Ashley in the presentation of a $50,000 Puck Drop Grant from Starbucks to North Helpline. Food insecurity is one of the major challenges faced by KCI neighbors in the Northgate area, and Starbucks has long taken action to fight hunger and support the thriving communities it calls home.

Artist Paige Pettibon, a Tacoma-based artist and member of the Salish and Kootenai Confederated Tribes, contributed the mural pictured above to the Iceplex, in collaboration with Starbucks and the One Roof Foundation. The four-figure pattern in the mural, often found in traditional Coastal Salish basket weaving, represents community coming together through craft and design.

<a href="https://www.king5.com/article/sports/kraken-iceplex-serving-community/281-4e448ee4-6253-4b26-af6a-5cc26f47ddb5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">KING 5 News</a> in Seattle covered the one-year anniversary of the KCI Community Store and the neighborhood-focused relationship between Starbucks, the Seattle Kraken, and the One Roof Foundation, which is committed to sponsoring field trips for kids at local Title I schools to visit the Iceplex and learn about the sport of hockey.

Since opening, the store has become a community fixture, serving more than 16,000 customers and committing a dedicated portion of its sales receipts to benefit local community programs.

Starbucks Celebrates One-Year Anniversary of Kraken Community Iceplex Store with Special Guest

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Starbucks to open 21st Community Store at Kraken Community Iceplex, dedicated to providing economic opportunity by investing in the Northgate neighborhood and greater Seattle community

A percentage of store profits to support Kraken’s One Roof Foundation and other local nonprofits

The company will establish an ongoing Puck Drop Grant with first $50,000 to YouthCare to support their work to end youth homelessness

From the company’s start in 1971 as a single store at the Pike Place Market, Starbucks has always been about so much more than coffee. With a mission “to inspire and nurture the human spirit, one cup, one person and one neighborhood at a time,” we believe we have a responsibility to strengthen our communities. That commitment began in our hometown of Seattle 50 years ago and remains true today.

On June 30, 2021, Starbucks and the Seattle Kraken, Seattle’s new professional ice hockey expansion team, announced a <a href="https://www.nhl.com/kraken/news/seattle-kraken-and-starbucks-announce-partnership-at-newly-named-kraken-community-iceplex/c-325523576?tid=319039896" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">multi-year partnership</a> to celebrate and strengthen the Seattle community. This partnership will focus on building community and advancing equity in Seattle through the newly named Kraken Community Iceplex. The Iceplex will serve as a space to support the Northgate community – one of Seattle’s most diverse neighborhoods – and will bring people together and foster a sense of inclusion and belonging through sports and community programs.

"Starbucks has tremendous pride in our hometown, and we are honored to work with an organization like the Seattle Kraken which shares our values," said Kevin Johnson, CEO at Starbucks. "The people in our city represent the very best of us, and working together, we're committed to strengthening the Seattle community, celebrating our neighbors, and building a lasting partnership that uplifts the lives of people and families across the Puget Sound."

Read more about the partnership in <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2021/our-new-community-impact-partnership-in-seattle/">a letter</a> to local Seattle partners (employees) from Camille Hymes, vice president of community impact at Starbucks.

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Starbucks will serve as one of the Kraken’s Community Impact Partners and will open its 21st Community Store within Kraken Community Iceplex. <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2020/starbucks-expands-commitment-in-underserved-communities-across-the-us/">Starbucks Community Stores</a> are committed to economic development and opportunity in underserved communities. They focus on hiring from the community, partnering with nonprofits and working with local artists, and serve as a space for community events and programs. Unique to the Northgate Community Store at the Iceplex, a percentage of profits will support the Kraken and Climate Pledge Arena’s One Roof Foundation and other local nonprofit organizations.

Slated to open this September, Kraken Community Iceplex will have programs to support youth and adult skating and hockey lessons, youth and adult hockey leagues, figure skating, public skate sessions and more, with the goal of introducing hockey to more members of the Seattle community. Kraken fans will also be able to watch the NHL team practice and attend game viewing events. Program registration and more information is available at <a href="http://www.krakencommunityiceplex.com">www.krakencommunityiceplex.com</a>.

Serving and Engaging the Seattle Community

Together, Starbucks and the Kraken will build this community partnership to address the related, critical needs of access to resources and opportunity for young people – particularly girls and Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) youth – through key investments and programming in partnership with the One Roof Foundation, and local organizations including Black Girl Hockey Club, YouthCare, the Boys and Girls Club, and the Washington Wild, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting girls’ ice hockey.

To further the impact of this partnership, Starbucks will establish an ongoing Puck Drop Grant, awarding an initial $50,000 grant to YouthCare to support their work to end youth homelessness in Seattle.

"We are so excited that Starbucks and the Kraken, two impact-driven community leaders, are joining forces to help expand access to resources and opportunities to Seattle-area youth," said Suzanne Sullivan, Chief Advancement Officer of YouthCare, Seattle. "We look forward to building this partnership together to transform the lives of young people experiencing homelessness through employment, education, and community programs, for years to come.”

Additional partnership highlights include a program that invites one hundred community members to every Kraken game at Climate Pledge Arena as a way to celebrate and recognize local nonprofits, first responders, educators and other community heroes, as well as joint community service and engagement efforts supported by Starbucks partners (employees) and the Kraken.

Starbucks will also be the exclusive coffee served in Kraken Community Iceplex and the Climate Pledge Arena.

Advancing Equity in our Hometown

This partnership is a demonstration of Starbucks commitment to strengthening its hometown, building upon the company’s efforts to<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/inclusion-diversity/"> advance diversity, equity and inclusion</a> and provide economic opportunity by investing in traditionally underserved, diverse communities across the country.

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Starbucks to open 21st Community Store at Kraken Community Iceplex, dedicated to providing economic opportunity by investing in the Northgate neighborhood and greater Seattle community.

Starbucks Announces Community Impact Partnership with Seattle Kraken Ice Hockey Team

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A letter to local Seattle partners (employees) from Camille Hymes, vice president of community impact at Starbucks

From our start as a single store at the Pike Place Market 50 years ago, our aspiration has always been to be a different kind of company. A company that looks for opportunities to bring people together for conversation and connection, making a positive impact in the communities we serve. 

Today is a proud moment for our hometown partners and ice hockey fans across the country as Starbucks and the Seattle Kraken, a new professional ice hockey expansion team, announce a multi-year partnership to celebrate and strengthen the Seattle community.&nbsp; This partnership will focus on building community and advancing equity in Seattle – amplifying Starbucks existing investments and partnerships in the Seattle community and the Kraken’s ongoing efforts to advance diversity, equity and inclusion.

When we learned of this unique opportunity to engage in a partnership with the&nbsp;Kraken&nbsp;organization, the first question we asked ourselves was, “Will this partnership make our partners proud?”&nbsp;And after learning that the ethos of the organization is to promote a more equitable society, a healthier planet and a world where people can realize a brighter future, the answer was a resounding “YES”!&nbsp;

I want to reiterate to you that this is about more than ice hockey; it’s about supporting communities and our hometown. Together, Starbucks and the Kraken are committed to serving the Seattle community via the newly named Kraken Community Iceplex. It will serve as a space to support the Northgate community – one of Seattle’s most diverse neighborhoods – bringing people together and fostering a sense of inclusion and belonging through community programming and of course, ice hockey.

And, inside the Kraken Community Iceplex, we will open our 21st Starbucks Community Store where a percentage of store profits&nbsp;will support the Kraken and Climate Pledge Arena’s <a href="https://onerooffoundation.org/">One Roof Foundation</a> and local nonprofit organizations with a focus on youth&nbsp;homelessness, environmental justice and providing access and opportunities in youth ice hockey. It is set to open with Kraken Community Iceplex this September.

Even more, as one of the Community Impact Partners of the Seattle Kraken, Starbucks will:

And partners, this is just the beginning of the incredible community impact we know we can have in partnership with the Kraken.

There is an old African proverb I am reminded of, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” In this partnership, we will further amplify our community efforts and there is no limit to how far we can go.&nbsp;

A letter to local Seattle partners (employees) from Camille Hymes, vice president of community impact at Starbucks.

Our New Community Impact Partnership in Seattle

https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2021/our-new-community-impact-partnership-in-seattle/

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